Appeal No. 2003-1572
Application No. 09/661,747
Chuang’s objective is to overcome the perceived deficiencies of
prior art pillows using buckwheat hulls as a filler, and
additionally to distribute a plurality of far-infrared ray emitting
particles inside the pillow which, according to Chuang, act to
enhance the blood circulation and metabolism of the user (column 1,
lines 7-10).
In the present case, there is no reasonable teaching,
suggestion or incentive in the applied references which would have
led one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kellogg in the
manner proposed by the examiner. As noted above, Kellogg requires
a filler material of particles that create a multiplicity of
relatively large high pressure areas and an intersecting network of
narrow, lower pressure channels whereby differential pressure is
created that drives interstitial fluid from the high pressure areas
into the network of channels to lead fluid away from the body area
under compression (column 3, lines 39-50; column 4, lines 12-27).
Kellogg indicates that compressible, low density, open cell foam
plastic such as shredded medical grade polyurethane is acceptable
for this purpose (paragraph bridging columns 7 and 8). Specific
examples include plastic foam material of ½ inch cubic size and
lower in a mixture of particles having high resiliency ratings of
HR 11, HR 23 and HR 27, and plastic foam material of ¼ inch cubic
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